Chapter 9

The North

Icy cold air rushed past Rowan as he crouched down on the Swellow's back. The dead of the night was upon them, and Rowan was grateful for the warm blanket draped over him, keeping him warm as they flew to the Northern part of Rastesia. Rowan turned his head to the left and could depict the ears of Zav poking through two or three swathes of cloth wrapped around him.

Their rides wore black vests strapped to their chest laces with red weavings. It provided the birds with warmth that diffused out to the very tip of their wings, mostly so they didn't freeze mind flight and plummet to the surface. They rode well above the clouds of the night, which was partially the reason the temperature had dropped to well below freezing. The other part was the fact they were much more north than the tropical like area that Cliff Base was situated. Halfway to their destination, and Rowan already knew he wasn't gonna like the weather at the Northern Base. He wasn't too sensitive to the cold, but this felt like icicles were piercing his fur every second. He looked again at the birds, who flew uncovered besides the vest, and was either amazed by the vest's abilities, or tolerant they were to the cold.

An hour later they descended to the ground, keeping sharp watch for Shadows, making sure they weren't spotted. Rowan was relieved to feel the warmth of being back on the ground, and stretched his aching muscles due to being perched on top of the Swellow for so long. They had landed in a forest, one that consisted of tall trees with leaves only jutting out into thick bushels at the top, providing only small pockets of moonlight to filter through. The air was cool, but much more comfortable than the subzero winds that Rowan experienced in the air, as well as it was easier to breath.

"Shill will take the first watch, I'll take the second. You two get a good rest, we'll be flying all day tomorrow." Frisk, the Swellow Rowan was flying on told them as Shill flew up to a nearby tree and perched himself on top, nodding that he was in position. Rowan felt as if he should object, offering to take the watch instead, but the seemingly warm air and his drowsiness conquered it, and he nodded without question. He curled up, wrapping a blanket around him, and soon he fell into a deep sleep.

Rowan blinked his eyes awake, seemingly woken up by nothing, abruptly ending his awesome dream of eating that fourth Oran Berry pie at lunch. He looked around and spotted Frisk perched in seemingly the same spot as Shill was before. It was hard to tell them apart, especially in the night, but thanks to Rowan's night vision, he was able to tell the difference. Shill had silver tips on his wings, compared to Frisk's jet black ones.

Rowan spotted Zav sitting upright, staring into the night sky, his eyes illuminated by the haze of stars. Rowan stretched his muscles out and pawed over to see what was up. Zav was a morning guy, but this was a bit too early, even for him.

"Zav? Something wrong?" He asked, and the Jolteon suddenly blinked to attention and turned to him.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing. Just thinking." He replied briefly. Rowan searched his mind, finding exactly what was troubling his friend.

"Hey, we're gonna be fine. This mission will be done before you know it, Aves has nothing to worry about." Rowan reassured him. When Glade had told them they were selected for the mission, no one knew how to react. Aves had objected that they be put on the mission, but Glade had insisted that they were the right choice, eventually either tiring Aves out, or convincing him that they were really the right choice. Rowan himself wasn't very sure, but he knew he couldn't object. Plus, he was pretty excited for this mission, as was Zav. But with that came worry as well, and the two emotions fought constantly, deciding every action. Rowan tried to suppress his worry as much as he could, but in the back of his mind, it was always gnawing at his thoughts.

Zav turned to him, confused on how he knew what he was thinking, but his thoughts were too clouded to look farther into it. he simply shrugged and pawed at the ground.

"I don't know. I mean, where do we even start? The crystals have usually been notoriously hard to find, and if there really was a sighting, then The Shadows will be on their way already. How are we going to do this, Rowan? I… I don't want to let anyone at the base down, and this is my first mission after all…" Zav trailed off, his eyes round with doubt, "I just don't know…" He trailed off. Rowan bit his lip. To be honest, he was feeling the exact same way, but he didn't know how to reply.

"Hey… I'm worried too. God's sake, I'm more confused now more than ever, but that's not gonna scare me." Rowan told him, hoping he sounded as confident as he thought, "And I know you, Zav. I know you're never gonna quit, no matter what the circumstances come to, you've proven that to me, as well as yourself multiple times. There's no one I'd rather have by my side than you right now, a human's truth. Not even Arceus." Rowan told him, realizing it really was the truth. Sure, someone like Arceus would be powerful, but Rowan knew he wanted something more than power. Zav may not be the most powerful, but Rowan knew he could trust the Jolteon with anything, and that he wouldn't quit. Even if his life was at stake.

Zav gave him a warm smile, "Thanks. You too, Jolteon's truth." Zav said, mimicking Rowan's voice terribly.

"Hey! I don't sound like that!" Rowan objected, and Zav laughed, returning to his old self. Rowan couldn't help but smile. He truly wouldn't have anyone by his side rather than Zav.

The Jolteon grinned and tilted his head, "I wonder why Glade chose us for the mission. I mean, just why? He barely knows you, and we're not even ranked above Bronze yet." Zav pondered, turning to Rowan for an answer. The Umbreon shrugged, he didn't know why either. It was so abrupt that Rowan didn't know what to think. To think they would even be considered for a mission yet would be astonishing.

Glade had said they have more than proved themselves when they defeated Torin, but most of that was orchestrated by Aves himself, and the anything else really happened by accident or just plain luck. Aves made an argument and tried to point this out in the least critical way, but Glade rejected it, saying that success is no accident.

They sat there, gazing mostly at the stars, Rowan now fairly awake. He liked the way they glittered in the sky, as if the were alive.

"You think we're the only ones here?" Zav asked suddenly, not taking his gaze away from the sky.

"What do you mean?" Rowan asked in response.

"Like, any other things out there like us?" Zav asked, "Wait, I guess there's you. Though I'm not exactly sure where you came from. It was thought humans may have inhabited this world long before us pokemon did, but that's just a theory." Zav said. Rowan shrugged. He wasn't too sure either. He cocked his head though, he felt like he could remember this was something humans have wondered about for centuries. He felt drowsiness overtake him again, and he said goodnight to Zav, and fell back into a deep sleep, curled up near the foot of a tree. He hoped no nightmares would come into his vision, and that he could maybe resume his dream about that Oran Berry pie.

Rowan awoke from his slumber to a claw gently prodding him awake. He blinked his eyes open sleepily, and saw Frisk standing over him. Rowan shook the webs from his sleepy brain and nodded, emerging from his cloak of blankets, and was met with a cold gust of air, instantly missing his cocoon. He saw Zav already was up, and situating his blankets for the last leg of the trip up north. He grinned at him and climbed aboard Shill, who was patiently waiting for the two of them. Rowan nodded as Frisk gave him an expectant look, and the Umbreon gathered his blankets and got himself situated on top of the Swellow. Frisk gave him a signal and the two birds shot into the sky, Rowan and Zav gripping to their backs.

The flight seemed even longer this time, the air even cooler this time as they flew threw the beginning of the night. Rowan hadn't realized how long they had slept until Frisk told him. He thought it was the morning, when in reality it was dusk.

"Adaptation to the sudden cold is the cause of this." Frisk told him, "You'll find out that you may be more tired for at least a few days when you're at Northern Base." He told him. Great. Rowan was already tired enough as it is.

Once they finally reached their destination, Rowan's bones felt like they were as cold as stone. Even when they descended, the air seemed to only warm a few degrees, and Frisk began to shiver a little as well, even with his thermal heat vest.

Rowan met with Zav, both of them wearing jacket like cloaks, and thanked the Swellows for their service.

"Not a problem. Now go find that crystal. We can't let the Shadows get their hands on it." Frisk said.

"Right. We'll have it before you know it." Rowan said confidently. Frisk nodded and motioned to Shill, and they both shot into the air, vanishing above the clouds.

"Now what?" Rowan asked. He didn't exactly know exactly where this Northern Base was, as he was told they'd be dropped off right at the entrance. Problem was it was nowhere to be found in in the thick pine forest where they had landed. Zav began walking forward and motioned for him to follow.

"Your Tyre. You remember it, right?" Zav asked him, and Rowan froze. Shoot. He really needed to know that. Rowan gave an innocent look, shaking his head. Zav sighed.

"Fine, I'll do it." He said, and stood near the edge of the clearing, and flowingly performed his complex moves. Once he was finished there was a pause, and the ground suddenly began to shake slightly, and a unearthed passageway revealed itself in the middle of the clearing. Zav gestured for Rowan to follow, and they both proceeded down it, which was illuminated by lights in the wall. Rowan felt the earth shudder, and the light from the entrance of the tunnel sealed off.

Once they reached the door at the end of the tunnel, it rumbled and slid open, revealing a medium sized room where a Glalie sat at the front desk. He looked up at them, and his eyes widened in surprise.

"An Umbreon? A Jolteon?" He muttered to himself as he flipped through papers. By the time they had walked over to the desk, the Glalie had found what he wanted.

"Ah, here it is. Rowan, and Zav, from… Cliff Base. Here on a mission to… investigate the sighting of the Crystal sighting." He read from the paper. He looked up at them, a friendly smile on his face. "Master Blizzard will be meeting with you shortly. In the meantime, you must stay here. Base policy." He stated. Zav frowned.

"Don't worry, he won't be long. Blizzard's usually very efficient." The Glalie assured them. Rowan shrugged and sat down on a nearby bench, noticing this Base's hall seemed a lot like Cliff's.

"Hey Zav, when exactly were all the Bases built for the Order?" Rowan asked as Zav sat down next to him.

"Well, most of them were built three or four centuries ago. Why?" Zav told him, and Rowan cocked his head questioningly.

"I thought you said the Order was formed recently? Like, right after the Exen, right?" Rowan remembered. Zav nodded.

"Yes that's true. The Order was founded only a two decades ago, but these were built by what we believe was the Ancient Order." Zav explained.

"Who were the Ancient Order? What did they do?" Rowan wondered.

"The Ancient Order are who we believe built most of these bases. They are still shrouded in a lot of mystery, as we don't know exactly what their purpose was, or how they disbanded or died out. All we know for sure is that they built most of these bases. Everything else is mostly speculation." Zav informed. Rowan nodded. He realized the engravings in the wall were almost exactly the same as the ones at Cliff Base, but where all the patterns met to join together, there was a slight indent that formed a diamond shape. the indent only looked about an inch deep, probably less. Rowan couldn't remember what exactly the pattern was at Cliff Base, but he knew they weren't the same.

"Hey Zav, do you remember if the patterns in the entry hall at Cliff Base look anything like these ones?" Rowan asked as he walked over to the patterns and ran his paw down them. they were smooth, almost impeccable to the eye. Rowan wondered who had made these carvings, as they must have taken a lot of precision and patience to etch.

"A little, why?" Zav said. He had a pretty good memory, so he would have to be Rowan's source.

"What's different?" Rowan asked, and Zav tilted his head in confusion.

"Why do you want to know?" Zav asked.

"Could you just tell me?" Rowan asked. Zav rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He said and began scanning the wall. After a couple moments he turned back to Rowan.

"The patterns are a bit different, but still pretty similar. the indent in the middle is a diamond instead of an X shape like the one at Cliff Base. Why's it so important?" Zav told him, repeating his question for before.

"Nothing… just wondering if there's some reason the pokemon who carved these etched them the way they are." Rowan said subtly, studying the wall.

"Nah. We thought that too, but we tried for years to figure them out. They seem to just be for decoration." Zav said dismissively, and seem to draw his attention away from the wall.

Rowan kept his gaze on the wall. Sure, they were nice looking, but now he had seen the correlation, the feeling that there was more too them was in the back of his mind. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice bellowing from the hall.

"An Umbreon and a Jolteon in the same room? Not something you see very often." A Raichu spoke to them, a warm smile on his face.

"Oh, hi. We're here on a mission. We're from-" Zav started, but the Raichu swished his tail and cut him off.

"Cliff Base, I know. You're looking for Blizzard I assume?" He asked them.

"Um actually, yeah, we are. Is he available yet?" Zav asked politely. The Raichu laughed.

"Well, you're looking at him." The Raichu replied, giving Zav much different answer than he was expecting.

"You're Blizzard?" It was Rowan who spoke now. The Raichu chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"That seems to be the first thing anyone says to me. Yes. I'm Blizzard. Odd name for a Raichu, right?" Blizzard regarded. There was a long silence until he spoke again.

"So… you wanted to talk to me, right? Blizzard asked. Zav shook himself to his senses.

"Oh yeah. We need to know any info you have about the pokemon who spotted the crystal, I assume you know why we're here." Zav informed him, and Blizzard nodded.

"Yes, yes. Though I'm not sure why Glade has sent you here. We investigated, but all leads we could find clearly led to a trap by the Shadows. We think the whole thing was a fluke, put on by the Shadows to lead us out of our Base and ambush." Blizzard explained, "If I were you, I'd keep my guard up. Though we're fairly sure there are no Shadows in the area anymore, there still may be a couple. You know how good they are at blending in." He warned them. Rowan had not yet encountered a member of the Shadows, none except the crystal thief at Wisp City. If that's how powerful all of them were, Rowan didn't want to run into any of them. He nodded in understanding.

"Gylen has already got your room ready, as you will be staying here for the duration of the mission. Cafeteria hours are posted on your door, and don't worry, I've already informed everyone here that you two will be seen around the base, and to not have a heart attack when they see a Jolteon and an Umbreon." Blizzard gestured to the Glalie at the front desk, and handed Zav their room key.

"I wish you two good luck on your mission. Report back to me if there are any problems." He said swiftly. Rowan and Zav nodded, and he left the two standing in the hallway. Rowan and Zav headed to their room, in which they discovered the Northern Base was much smaller than Cliff Base. It only took a minute or so to find their room, which had two bedrooms. Rowan leaped on the bed, his aching muscles only now revealing themselves.

"I think we should rest before we head out. We've been flying the whole day." Rowan proposed, already curling up on his bed.

"Seconded. Tomorrow we will start the search. Best place to start would be Glacier Village, that's where the supposed pokemon who disappeared after reporting seeing the crystal lived." Zav said. "See you in the morning."

"Goodnight." Rowan replied and closed his eyes as the Jolteon left him in the still room.

Rowan's dreams that night were much more vivid than the night before.

And terrifying.

After being burned alive and drowning, Rowan startled awake with a gasp just when he was about to hit the ground after falling hundreds of feet. His breathing was rapid, and his heart raced. He looked around, and his eyes widened in worry as he didn't recognize where he was. It took a couple moments until he realized he was in the North Base, and he sighed in relief. He wasn't sure why he was having all these nightmares, he just hoped they would go away soon. Reluctant at first, but soon caving into his exhaustion, Rowan found himself falling into a deep slumber once again.

"Wake up! Day one of the mission, Rowan!" The Umbreon heard Zav below from the door of his room. Rowan grumbled and pulled the covers over his head, reluctant to get up. Zav trotted up next to the covers and sent a shock through them, in which Rowan yelped and flopped out of the bed awkwardly.

"I SAID NO SHOCKING!" Rowan boomed, his head ringing from the jolt. Zav simply shrugged.

"There's no way of getting you to wake up on your own. I was just speeding up the process." Zav said briskly.

"One of these days, Zav… I swear." Rowan grumbled, stretching his waking muscles. He followed Zav out to the cafeteria which was close compared to the one at Cliff Base. It was quick, and relatively no one was staring in bafflement when they showed up. Apparently Blizzard had told the truth.

Snow crunched underneath Rowan and Zav's paws, who's were concealed by green cloaks. Pokemon all around them were chatting and commuting in the town square of Glacier Village. It was a relatively small place, inhabited by many kinds of pokemon. Rowan counted at least one of every type, all except for any fire types.

The town didn't have any real form of police or justice force, though there seemed to be a couple Lairon's led by an Aggron which moderated the city, and seemed to break up and disputes in the market which had arised. Rowan and Zav decided that would be the best place to start looking for information about their victim. It was a Linoone named Kult who had gone missing, the one who had also reportedly found the location of one of the crystals.

"Excuse me, sir. Could we have a word with you. In private?" Zav spoke to the Aggron, who just now noticed he was standing next to him.

"Why? What's so important?" The Aggron answered back.

"We have questions about the disappearance of Kult. We were hoping you would provide some insight." Rowan responded in a low voice. The Aggron's eyes gleaned with interest, and a smile cracked across his face.

"Follow me." He said, turning towards a wooden structure behind him. The front door had orange light shining through it, indicating that there was a fire heating it. Rowan was desperate to get a break from the cold, so he was glad the Aggron had been so eager to speak with them.

"Gowl, take watch until I'm back." The Aggron hollered to a large Lairon, who nodded in reply. The Aggron led them into the room, which only consisted of a large fire, a couple of chairs and a couch. Rowan and Zav chose the chairs, and the Aggron took a seat on the couch, which Rowan now noticed had multiple steel frames underneath to prevent it from breaking under the huge pokemon.

"Finally, someone. We've wanted to investigate the case for weeks now, but we haven't had any time." The Aggron explained. He gestured to the hooded cloaks that they wore.

"You can trust me. If I were a Shadow, I would have turned both you in already. They would love to have an Umbreon and a Jolteon in their prison's." He told them, and they both stared at him, frozen.

"Bit of advice: Get a Dittonometer. If you can find some for a reasonable price, almost no one will be able to tell you apart." He advised.

"A Dittonometer is a device which changes your appearance. If you know how to work it, you can turn into relatively any pokemon on the outside, while still retaining your abilities on the inside." Zav murmured to him. Rowan nodded, having something that could do that would be pretty helpful, being who they were.

"Anyways, The pokemon who was captured was a Linoone. He was a trader here, and a well known resident of Glacier Village. He had no wife or kids, but he was one of the most honest and respectable pokemon I know." He began, "I knew him, and he wasn't one to venture out looking for some crystal. He didn't stray too far from the village either, which may tell you that the crystal is located somewhere near it."

"We know most of that. Is there anything about his report of the crystal?" Zav asked, and the Aggron nodded.

"He seemed in a rush. Understanding what he was saying was a real challenge. But he also looked… relieved in a way." He described, "Unless he was going to try to sell the crystal for a large profit, I'm not sure why he was interested in it. He wouldn't tell anyone the location of it, but I think that was more because of his haste, and less of wanting to take it for himself." He told them.

"Do you know anything about why he was in such a hurry?" Rowan asked.

"No." He replied, and glanced at the door.

"Although he was very honest, I think he was hiding something, and the crystal may have been something he had been secretly looking for." He told them.

"Do you think he was enlisted by the Shadow's secretly to find the crystal?" Zav asked, but the Aggron shook his head.

"No. If anything, he was enlisted by someone against the Shadows." The Aggron assured them.

"Is he a good fighter?" Rowan asked. The Aggron shrugged.

"No. He was one to rely on his quickness rather than power." The Aggron told them. They stood there for a moment, silently evaluating everything that was said. It was Zav who broke the silence.

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" The Jolteon asked, and the Aggron shook his head.

"That's it. Though I do suggest you two start your looking in the forest across the river. That's where he reportedly found the crystal. It's a very big forest though, so don't get lost in it. Pokemon who do tend not to fair too well during the night when they're stuck there, so be careful." He advised, and they nodded. They got up from their seats, thanked him, and left, the cold air seeming to punch them in the face. Zav turned to Rowan.

"Should we start our search now?" Zav asked, and Rowan glanced at the sun. They still had at least twelve hours of daylight left by the looks of it.

"Yes. Let's start in the forest that he told us." Rowan said, motioning to the river. Across it a thick edge of pine trees marked the start of the forest. Zav nodded and with their cloaks concealing them the best they could, they started off.

"Man, Kult really must have been quite secretive." Rowan commented. They had been searching for hours, and not even a single track of the Linoone had been found. He glanced up, the midday sun shining bright into his eyes. No excitement didn't exactly warm him either in the freezing cold either. Shivering, he turned to Zav, whom's cloak was was peppered with snow from when he had been hit by a snow pile off a branch. He noticed he was inspecting a spot on the snow covered ground.

"You find something?" Rowan asked, making his way toward him.

"Maybe…" Zav said as he began to dig in the snow. He uncovered a stone tablet. Rowan's head cocked to one side.

"What's that?" He asked, inspecting the engravings on it, which were partly distorted from the large crack running down the middle. Zav shrugged.

"It seems to be a language." He noted.

"What does it say?"

"I don't know. It's some language I don't recognize…" Zav trailed off. He stuffed the tablet in his cloak pocket.

They continued searching until dusk approached. They had made sure to mark where they were going, and found that retracing their way back to the village was simple. Once back at the base, Blizzard confronted them, asking if they had found anything.

"I thought you weren't interested?" Rowan reminded the Raichu.

"Well, I still want to know about any finds near this base. Trust me, I hope you find this crystal." Blizzard responded. Rowan huffed.

Zav extracted the tablet from his cloak pocket and gently placed it on the ground. Blizzard's face twisted in confusion.

"Hmm? You found this in the forest behind the village?" He asked surprised. It didn't look like he knew what it was either. Zav nodded. Blizzard picked up the tablet, and ran his paws down the engravings.

"Do you have anyone who could possibly translate the language on it?" Zav asked, and the Raichu slowly nodded.

"Yeah. I think Efilis could read this. Haven't seen a language he couldn't read." The Raichu picked it up.

"May we see him?" Rowan asked, ad Blizzard nodded. Soon they were in the Xatu's room, examining the tablet.

"What does it say?" Blizzard asked him. The Xatu paused, and turned to him. He shook his head, a conflicted expression showing.

"It's in a very ancient language. The only words I could confirm were 'tree', 'river', and 'midnight'." The Xatu said, a defeated look in his face. Zav mouth opened in realization.

"But this tablet looks like it could be at most ten years old. How could it be in an ancient language?" He said.

"Someone must know how to read and write it." Blizzard pointed out.

"And whoever it was for had to be able to read it." Rowan finished. His eyes widened.

"Could Kult have been able to read this? Maybe the Shadows kidnapped him as they were hoping to find this and translate it." Rowan put out. Zav had a hard look on his face.

"Maybe, but then who put it there, and why?" He asked.

"Well whatever it is, it must've been important." Blizzard concluded, "You've got my attention now. Something written in a language that not even Efilis can read is obviously important." He told them.

"So this means…?" Zav asked.

"I wish to accompany you, if you'll allow it, on your mission." He asked. Rowan glanced at Zav, who indicated that they should.

"Alright. We'll go out to the forest at midnight, tonight." Rowan said. He remembered the Aggron had warned them specifically not to go into the forest during the night, but by the what the tablet had told them, they would probably have to. Zav gave him a glance, indicating he thought this might not be the best idea.

"Alright then. I'll meet you two by the front entrance tonight. I advise you wear thick clothing, as these northern nights are anything but pleasant." Blizzard advised before nodding to them and leaving. Zav gave Rowan a doubtful look.

"What is your plan exactly?" He asked him. Rowan grinned.

"I have a feeling that the statement of staying away from the forest during the night was exactly made up for this purpose." He explained, and Zav's look grew confused.

"Think about it. That Aggron told us to stay away from the forest during the night. I think that was made up exactly so that only the one's who knew about this would know to enter at midnight." He told him. Zav slowly nodded his head in understanding.

"What do you think we'll find?" Zav asked, and Rowan shrugged.

"I have no clue, but I hope it'll be something awesome."

The bitter air howled through the thick pines of the moonlit forest. Rowan was grateful Zav had urged him to bring the extra cloak which surrounded him, as he realized he would be an icicle by now. Blizzard accompanied them, but he was wearing only a light cloak. He told them he would be fine, and hadn't complained at all yet, baffling Rowan. Maybe he was named Blizzard for certain reasons.

They walked a couple miles into the forest, scanning for anything else they could find, until Zav spoke.

"Guys… I think we should stop." He said in an unsure voice. Blizzard and Rowan gave him an odd look. The Jolteon looked back, nervous, even slightly terrified all of a sudden, as if he knew something bad was about to happen.

"Why? What's wrong?" Rowan asked in a concerned voice. Zav was usually the most energetic and positive, so this sudden change seemed suspicious.

"I… I don't know. It's just…" He trailed off, glancing up at the trees in awareness. Rowan followed his sight and didn't see anything.

"Just what?" Blizzard asked. Zav opened his mouth to speak, but paused, and closed it, shaking his head.

"Never mind. Let's just get this done quick." He dismissed suddenly. Rowan gave him a confused look for a couple moments, but all the Jolteon did was shuffle his paws around in the snow and give him an expectant look. Rowan started again after a couple moments, the group diving deeper into the forest which now seemed to harbor more than they may be expecting.

They walked more and more into the forest, and Rowan would occasionally glance at Zav, half making sure he hadn't ran off in his sudden fright, half to make sure he was okay. After thirty minutes or so, Blizzard spoke.

"Rowan. I think we need to turn back." The Raichu said, worriedly. Rowan gave the Raichu a baffled look. Zav didn't comment, his gaze worriedly gazing up at the top of the pines.

"Why?" Rowan asked, turning to face them, "What's with you guys?" He asked in confusion. Something was wrong. Blizzard and Zav looked at him worriedly, their eyes round with fear.

"What?!" Rowan demanded, growing angry, "Are you guys frightened by that myth about this forest?" He demanded. They both shook their heads.

"No, it's just… there's something wrong." Blizzard claimed quietly in a frightened tone. Zav nodded in agreement.

"It's not right. We need to get out of here, Rowan." The Jolteon told Rowan, and the Umbreon at first looked at them in confusion. What was the reason for this sudden scare? Did they see something? Rowan looked at them, confounded, until something hit him. He wasn't scared or frightened at all, and unless his senses had failed him, which would be highly unlikely due to the brace he had on.

This is why no one survives in this forest. It's what it wants. It's trying to manipulate us on our path and get us lost. He realized. Blizzard and Zav both would flee to whichever way they thought was the way out in a heartbeat if Rowan told them to, getting them separated and lost, with no food, in the middle of a freezing night.

It was trying to kill them.

Then I have to keep going, because the moment I turn away, we'll be dead for sure. He told himself. He looked at both of them, a determined look on his face.

"No. We aren't turning back." He commanded. Zav kept his mouth closed, and Blizzard opened his mouth to object, but closed it when Rowan gave him a low growl. He knew he had to be affirmative if they wanted to survive.

They continued on for almost twenty more minutes until Zav cried out.

"Rowan please, we have to turn back." The Jolteon begged, his eyes shut with pain. He was bracing as if he was about to get hit by something, but nothing was in sight that could even attack him. Blizzard looked at him, a pleading look in his eyes.

What if they're right? What if I'm leading them further into their death? Rowan wondered, until realizing what he was doing and shook his head, clearing the thoughts. No. He had to focus on getting through, and he couldn't doubt himself.

"No." Rowan declared in a strong voice. But this time, they weren't as easy to convince.

"Why? We'll die Rowan! The farther we go, the worse it gets!" Zav cried out, his eyes shut tight. Blizzard looked at him, a dark look in his eye.

"Rowan. You don't understand. We need to get out of here." The Raichu growled at him. Rowan took a step back, worrying the effect had grown too strong now and overwritten the Raichu's basic reasoning. Rowan shook his head and stood tall.

"No. We aren't turning back. You two need to snap out of it, this is the forest playing with your mind. You guys have to trust me, or we'll all die. The forest is trying to manipulate you. Fight it, and follow me." He assured them. They remained in the same way for a moment until finally giving in and nodding reluctantly to follow. Rowan silently sighed in relief. He wasn't sure what he'd have done if one of them had attacked him.

Rowan knew that he had to be close, as the spell seemed to be extremely strong, trying to partially cloud even his judgement. But he fought against it and stayed his course. Ten minutes after, Blizzard let out a low growl. Rowan looked back to see what was wrong, as they had been groaning in pain as the spell grew stronger. But his eyes grew wide as the Raichu tackled him, his sharp tail held to the Umbreon's throat.

"Blizzard! Stop!" Rowan ordered, but Rowan realized there was no Blizzard left as the bloodshot, hate-filled eyes glared back at him. He brought back the tail to decapitate him, but Rowan dodged and rolled out of the way just in time. He quickly glanced at Zav, who had partially collapsed in the snow, letting out whimpers of pain.

Rowan looked up to see the Raichu charging at him in a bezerker-like manner, and the Umbreon barely leaped over him, causing him to miss and skid on the snow. He didn't want to attack the Raichu, as that would only add fuel to the fire, making him even more angry.

"BLIZZARD! SNAP OUT OF IT!" Rowan yelled at him, trying to bring out anything close to a sense of reason. But it was no use, the Raichu still kept his angry bloodshot eyes fixed on the Umbreon. He opened his mouth and a blue orb quickly grew in front of it. Rowan's eyes widened as the Raichu fired a beam of light blue at him, and Rowan sent a blade of darkness sailing at it with all his might to block it. The two attacks collided and small explosion, knocking both Rowan and Blizzard off their feet.

When the smoke cleared, Rowan saw the Raichu, airborne with his tail glowing white, and sent it slamming down onto the Umbreon. Rowan dodged it, but the Raichu anticipated it, and with a swish of his tail, sent him flying across the snow. Rowan yelped as the tail hit him and took his breath away.

The Umbreon scrambled to his feet, and created a dome of energy over himself to block the quick moving tail again. He held it for three slams, until it shattered and Rowan had to dive out of the way for the beam of light blue the Raichu fired.

The Umbreon panted, and struggled to his feet, but saw Blizzard charging at him again. He spotted Zav running towards him too, but he couldn't tell whether he had lost his mind just as Blizzard had, or if he had miraculously beaten the spell. Rowan realized he couldn't take them both at once, and instead took off bolting as fast as he could deeper into the forest.

Unluckily for Rowan, he didn't know that no one if faster than electric-types, and soon realized the two of them were close behind him. Rowan was dodging the multiple ice-like beams Blizzard was firing at him, so that didn't boost his pace either. Soon he was tackled and they all flew through the air, their momentum making them glide through the air. Blizzard raised the tip of his razor tail to Rowan's throat quickly so when they landed it would slice cleanly through his neck. Rowan closed his eyes as he neared the ground, knowing he couldn't evade his imminent death. But as the tree of them passed two unusually tall pine trees parallel to each other, they all vanished in thin air just as they were about to collide with the ground. On the top a nearby pine tree a dark pokemon perched silently on one of the top branches, concealed very well by the leaves.

"They made it." He whispered to himself. He didn't think they would, but they had proved him wrong. He folded his arms, partly because of his impression of them, partly because he realized they were in a race now.

"This may be more difficult than I thought."

Hey, sorry for the long update! I'm going to spend a little bit of time revising and editing my previous chapters, so the next one may be as long of a wait as this one was(again, I'm really sorry!). Thank you all for reading and I hope you are enjoying the story!

Sincerely,

Eon11